Thanks man! I will have to see if I can find washers for this purpose. Any recommendations on where to buy suitable washers locally? I decided to go with new set of KYB shocks and a new set of Tein S Techs that I got as a trade fro now and i will start saving for coilovers.

Oh and her is a pic of the rear of mine with just a few groceries in the trunk and my 11 year old daughter in the back seat.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9krpmrx8/5108479864/
Too low by 9krpmrx8, on Flickr

 

IMO also that part of teh binding from lowering can be minimized by taking out some of the rear camber. My factory camber in rear was -2.1 and -1.9. If the shaft that shock is attached to is straightened up 1 deg, the inside shock shaft will go up straighter with less side pressure inside the shock.

I evened them to -1.9, but in hindsite, I'd rather have -1.0 to -1.5 camber in rear.

After next months track day, I'll be able to make a decision to readjust alignment.

 

Less negative camber would probably help, but you'd be giving up rear grip. How much that matters is of course a personal decision.

I used 3/4" fender washers, which are available at just about any hardware store (I got mine at Home Depot). Just be aware that you'll have to enlarge the holes slightly, which is easy if you have a Dremel tool, harder if not.

Another (and better) option is to order four of the OEM washers that are already there, or call a local dealer and see if they have any in stock.

 

Ordering the OEM washers is the best bet.

 

Okay I decided to run some OEM replacement mono tube KYB shocks I got on a hook up (thanks brother!!) on a new set of Tein S techs I got a hold of in trade from another awesome dude. I will run these until I can get a set of good coilovers. I don't plan on getting rid of the car so I figure getting a good set of coilovers that is serviceable is the smart move. But in the meantime I needed shocks so we will see how these KYB's compare to the stock Tokico's.

At least they are JDM

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9krpmrx8/5116185487/
DSC_0013 by 9krpmrx8, on Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9krpmrx8/5116185541/
DSC_0015 by 9krpmrx8, on Flickr

 

it should be decent thats the setup my fc has, junkyard find and its a hell of an upgrade from the 22 year old blown suspension i had lol

 

Yeah the seem very sturdy and I have owned KYB AGX adjustables back in the day and they always stood up very well.

 

It would be even better if it were true ...

 

TeamRX8,

Can you elaborate? Thanks.

 

Okay so I swapped out the springs and shocks and all is well. Me and the GF took the kids home tonight with the trunk fully loaded and no rubbing or sagging. I took the back way through the country on the way back and hit some pretty decent switchbacks at speed and she handled great. I didn't realize since I had not been out to the track or to the hill country for a while just how much the handling had diminished in the last month or two. I am looking forward to getting some good coilovers and/or a good shock spring combo on her.

Honestly the shocks did not appear to be obviously blown (were not leaking and still had good pressure) and neither did the springs (side by side they were the same length) but I didn't have any real way to test them either.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9krpmrx8/5156722477/http://www.flickr.com/photos/9krpmrx8/5156722477/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/9krpmrx8/, on Flickr

 

Okay, update. I sent the old springs back to Tein and they tested them and stated that they tested just fine. They are going to give me something in writing so I guess I will just resell them and give the new owner the documentation.

I had a long talk with the tech and he explained that the shocks can and do have an effect on ride height on a lot of cars. He also suggested that on the RX-8 that the rubber inserts be replaced if they have some decent mileage on them or look dry rotted. I may get new ones for mine because they are very old but at this point I am lost as to what really happened but all I know is that the new setup is great and working well.

 

glad to hear it wasn't the springs and that all is well again!

 

yeah, now I have an extra set of S techs. I'll sell both sets to go towards my coilovers

 

now we're talkin'!

 

nice, thanks for the update. now i can sell my springs as well since there isnt an issue with the springs. now to save up for coilovers....

 

Glad you got it figured out. My RB springs were sagging last summer during Texas8. I replaced them with S techs. They are starting to do it again. I think it my be my d-specs. I'm saving up for coilovers as well. The stechs and dspecs just aren't stiff enough in the rear. They seem to be enough for the front, but I'm constantly bottoming out with just a slight dip in the road. So frustrating.

 

Yeah When I have weight in the car now it is still close to the tire (18x9 +27 in the rear) but it doesn't rub unless I'm off camber. But I guess people need to take note that aging shock can affect ride height. When I removed the shocks they showed no leaking or typical signs of being blown but they were.

 

My Swift Sport Mach's have been great for about 2 years so far. They're about 1" lower than stock and 30% stiffer. They're tons of fun on track days and autox days. They're no substitute for a set of nice coilovers but they're a great compromise for a DD.

 

Hi all, I've been following several posts on the S techs and I had the wifey buy me some for Christmas.
My car is a 2004 with 80k on it. It's exceptionally clean as told to me by other RX8 owners and passers-by. It had newer stock shocks on it when I had the S techs installed last weekend. They were installed buy experienced RX8 guys and they did a great job.
Sooo, a week later and it looks almost exactly the same as before the springs were put on. Yes, I realize that the length of spring compression while the car is sitting on the ground is different from stock to E tech springs. I know that although the stock springs are longer, they are also not as strong and would compress more than the S techs when sitting. We put the springs side by side before installing them and the S techs were about an inch shorter, but again, they are stronger.
Long story short (too late) the ride is stiffer and very nice but the car really doesn't look like it got lowered.
I've looked at many of my before and after pics and I can't really see a difference except maybe about a half inch in the front.
Any feedback would be appreciated.


BEFORE:



AFTER:

 

I have H techs and they took about 2-3 weeks to finally settle in.

 

Well the installers may have been experienced but did the preload the front and the rears? If not, then you should now. It's very easy, you do not have to take apart everything.

 

+1 it should be immediate drop. If they torqued down the control arm bolts before compressing the springs (by putting the car on the ground or jacking up the spindle) then the friction between the bolts and bushings it keeping the car artificially high. This is a common thing to miss and causes this exact issue.

Solution:
jack the car up and take the wheel off.
loosen the A-arm bolts/multi-link arms.
Use a second jack to jack up the spindle until the car is supported by the spindle and not the first jack.
torque down the bolts.
remove Jack#2, put the wheel back on and repeat on the other 3.

 

I understand how the preload works and I tend to agree with that theory. However, when I shared that info with my installers, they kind of laughed and said that's not necessary. I recall them leaving the bolts loose until the last minute but can't remember if they were jacking up the spindle before tightening everything up.
Any chance of getting a picture of all the bolts I need to loose and tighten?
Thanks

 

Does that mean it should have been an immediate drop regardless of any preload, or only with a preload?

Either way I'm gonna just try your suggestion. Sounds good to me.

 

It means if it was installed correctly you should see an immediate drop. Meaning with preloading.